


Music To My Ears

by Khaelis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 13:49:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khaelis/pseuds/Khaelis
Summary: His night out at the piano bar took an rather unexpected turn





	

**Author's Note:**

> Short AU story, I hope you'll like it!

John leaned back in his chair as he sipped his whiskey, letting the alcohol sting his tongue and burn its way down his throat.

He had taken up the habit a few months back after a particularly awful day at work, and since then he had kept coming back every Thursday. The day she sang. Rose Tyler.

He always made sure to arrive early so he could get a table on the front row, just a few feet away from the stage. He always made sure to wear a classy tux and brush his hair into a decent hairstyle, even though she never threw him a single glance. He always closed his eyes when her beautiful voice carried by the deep chords of the piano reached his ears.

It was his guilty pleasure. The one moment in the week he wouldn’t miss for anything in the world.

This night started out pretty much like all the others. He gulped down a gasp of amazement when she stepped on the stage, her close-fitting dress hugging her curves in all the right places and her golden hair falling elegantly on her shoulders. To him, this Rose was the very definition of divine beauty. He watched intently when she reached for the mike, ready to let himself be lulled by her crystalline voice and transported into a world of wishful thinking.

But this night, no music came.

 

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” she started, giving her audience a small smile. “I am afraid my pianist cannot be joining me on stage tonight. For lack of any replacement, my performance is cancelled. I do apologize for the inconvenience. Enjoy your evening.”

“I can play.”

 

Her eyes squinted to make out whom the voice that has risen up belonged to in the inform mass of people gathered in the bar. John lowered his head and gave himself a mental slap for his incongruous intervention, but it was too late. She had spotted him. And he made the promise never to sit in the front row again.

Rose reached out with her hand as she searched for his eyes and he knew he had to reach back. He gave a sheepish grin and took the hand he was offered, even though he wished he could just run out the bar and never come back.

He stood awkwardly beside her, fiddling with his fingers behind his back as he tried to ignore all the people staring at him. And ignore how much more beautiful Rose looked from up close. Her piercing honey eyes, her full pink lips, her bare shoulders revealing her creamy skin.

What the hell had he been thinking? Sure, he could play the piano, but at home, alone. Not in front of an audience used to listening to real music. Not to accompany the singer that had been occupying his thoughts for months. He was cut out from his inner litany when she took his by the elbow and led him to the piano.

 

“Here are the music sheets,” Rose whispered to him, and he tried hard not to let himself be overwhelmed by her sweet scent. “We’re going to do three of them, the easiest.”

“Okay, yes, right,” he stuttered as he sat on the bench, eyeing the sheets with a worried chuckle. “Righty-O, those I can do.”

“You… can actually play, right?” she asked, suspicious of his strange behavior.

“Of course, yes, almost a piano God, me,” he tried to reassure her with an unconvincing wink.

“Don’t let me down.”

 

John released a long breath and wiggled his fingers to warm them up. She went back to the mike and gave her audience a warm smile, taking back her position as queen of the show.

 

“Thanks to this handsome gentleman, the show can go on,” she announced to a delighted audience. “I hope you will enjoy it.”

 

John looked at her and when she nodded at him, he knew that was his cue. He released a shaky breath as he hit the first note. Good start. That was good. Brilliant.

The more he played, the more confident he grew, his slender fingers dancing over the keys as his eyes followed the lines on the sheets. He almost went off tempo when she started singing, mesmerized by how her voice mingled so well with the melody he played. Hearing the music from here was so different from what he was used to. So much more beautiful.

A complicity settled slowly between the singer and the player. John felt his heart flutter happily each time Rose glanced at him with a smile at the corner of her lips. He forgot all about the show, about the audience, about his complete inability to understand a single word of what she was singing. When he was sure he could play the song without reading the notes, he kept his eyes locked on her face. He already knew he admired her, but this was something else. What a sight.

He had always thought this woman to be inaccessible. A rare jewel he could see but not touch. But now that he was sharing the stage with her, closer to her than he could have ever dreamt of, he realized that maybe, just maybe, he could try his luck.

Halfway through the third and last song, he bit his tongue forcefully when that beautiful woman, wonderful singer, took her mike and came to lean elegantly against the piano. The music John had been mechanically playing turned into one of the most romantic songs he had ever played and the meaning her lyrics carried managed to crawl through the definite infatuation fogging his mind. A love song. Great. Just great. As if her sensual pose wasn’t getting on his nerves enough already.

John felt his cheeks burn when her doe-eyes stared into his soul and she moved to sit next to him. The light of the projector fell on the both of them as she rested her head on his shoulder. Her sweet voice fell directly into her ear, her hand crawled on his back, her delicious scent filled his nostrils. It didn’t make the task at hand any easier. Far from it.

He thanked the heavens when his eyes landed on the last line of notes and his fingers lingered on the last keys. The music and the voice faded to a deafening silence until the whole crowd exploded into a loud row of applause and cheering.

He was almost tempted to laugh, too overwhelmed by her presence and his relief. He barely had the time to cope with what had just happened, as she took his hand and led him to the front stage, tugging on his fingers to make him bow before the audience.

 

“Thank you,” Rose smiled brightly to the people – whom had all stood up, John noticed through his haze. “Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of the night!”

 

John would have been glad to just go back to his table and finish his glass of whiskey, but Rose led him backstage into what must have been her dressing room. She closed the door behind them and he cleared his throat, a little too self-conscious. He rocked on the balls of his feet, looking at anything and everything but her.

 

“That was excellent,” she congratulated him with a warm smile of gratitude. “Thank you, you saved my night.”

“Oh, you are quite welcome, it was more of an honor for me, really, I should be the one thanking you Rose,” he blabbered – much to his own dismay.

“Do you always talk like that?” she asked with a grin.

“Hum, yes, actually,” he answered sheepishly. “Not that I want to, but… I’m sorry. Well, I should go anyway. Practice a little, you know.”

 

He wiggled his fingers with an unconvincing shrug and she raised an amused eyebrow. He sighed in defeat and offered a small bow of courtesy before he reached for the handle. He would not make a fool of himself and he would definitely not let her see his utter disappointment.

 

“Why do you always come to see me?”

 

John stopped dead in his tracks and he took a quick side glance at her. He expected her to mock him but she seemed genuinely interested. She crossed the distance and he tensed when she brushed her thumb on his chin. His stomach tied into tight knots and he felt the blush on his cheeks spread to his whole face and neck. She was so close, she smelled so nice, she looked so beautiful. That probably was the one and only occasion he had to talk to her, face-to-face. She would probably laugh at him, but never before had he been tempted to defy the odds.

 

“Because I like you,” he confessed, trying to avoid looking at her. “You’re beautiful. You’re a great singer. You seem to be a nice person. Kind. Sweet. I don’t know, that’s just how I feel about you. I didn’t even think you’d looked at me once.”

“I look at you every time,” Rose smiled, cocking her head to the side to catch his eyes. “I don’t think I’d perform as well if you weren’t there.”

“You do?” he asked in disbelief.

“Of course I do. What would I do without my handsome admirer? What’s your name, by the way?”

“John. I’m John. Rather common name, I have, but quite practical, I…”

“You’re doing it again,” she grinned widely, her tongue peeking out between her teeth. “The funny thing is, I sort of knew you’d be like that.”

“What, insufferable because of my gob?” he sighed, feeling the opportunity for something more slip from his grasp.

“Charming, brilliant, and a little gawky. Someone I’d like. I feel like I already know you. Already like you.”

 

He gaped at her when she offered her best smile and placed her hands on each side of his face. His eyes grew wide when her lips brushed softly against his. That wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. He’d just come to see her sing. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t part of the plan.

 

“Just because I said you’re brilliant doesn’t mean you have to overthink this, you know,” she said with a playful slap on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, this is just,” he breathed heavily. “Surreal. Unexpected. You threw me off-guard.”

“If you don’t want this, just say the word.”

“Heavens, I’ve been wanting this for weeks,” he chuckled, running his fingers through his mane. “I just... I don’t know how to ask a woman like you out.”

“Then allow me. John, would you go out with me?”

 

John placed his hands on her hips and rested his forehead against hers, looking intently into her beautiful honey eyes.

 

“Oh yes,” he smiled brightly. “That would be my pleasure.”

 

This time, he was the one to kiss her. He tried to make it as sweet and gentle as he could, but soon her mouth pressed more insistently against his and he gave in. Her fingers tangled into the tousled hair on the top of his head while his hand slowly crept up the small of her back to draw her closer to him.

As the kiss deepened, John thought that learning to play the piano might have been the best idea he’d had in his whole life.

 


End file.
